Public application
A Shiny interface for retrieving and downloading football statistics. My contribution is the application and its query and export workflow, built on Jase Ziv’s worldfootballR package.
The problem
Football statistics are spread across different sources and formats. A journalist, analyst or fan may need a table of players or results for a spreadsheet without being familiar with an R package API.
The application aims to reduce the steps between that query and a usable file.
The solution
WorldFootballR Downloader brings together queries to Transfermarkt, FBref and Understat through a graphical interface on top of worldfootballR. The project’s scope includes player biographies and market values, top scorers, results and line-ups, with CSV and XLSX export.
The downloaded file can be used in R, Excel or another tool. The application focuses on obtaining the data; subsequent interpretation depends on the intended analysis.
Development decisions
Data retrieval relies on worldfootballR. The Shiny layer organises query options and delivery of results, building on the underlying package and making its authorship explicit.
Export to common formats makes the output useful to people who do not use R in their day-to-day work.
Outcome and limits
WorldFootballR Downloader is publicly available on Posit Connect Cloud and can be used in a browser. The source code is maintained in a private repository. The first load may take longer if the service needs to reactivate the application.
Each query depends on the package and external sources: structural changes, access restrictions or differences in coverage can affect downloads. Keep the source and retrieval date, and check the comparability of statistics before combining competitions or seasons.